4 held over attack on Dalits in Hisar village, situation tense

Four persons were arrested today in connection with the alleged attack on Dalits in Mirchpur village here that left nine injured, even as additonal police force was deployed, while some families from the community reportedly fled in fear.
The incident comes a month after CRPF troops were withdrawn from the village after six years of an inter-caste violence case in which two people were burnt alive.
Tension prevailed in the area after the alleged attack that took place last night. Many Dalits claim that an atmosphere of fear continues to prevail in the village after the attack and some Dalit families were reported to have fled from the village while others have threatened to leave fearing more attacks on them.

However, the police denied this claim.
The villagers were watching a cycle show when some persons present there allegedly passed a caste-related comment on a Dalit youth who had won a race, police said.
The Dalits then objected to the comment following which a group of 20 people from another community allegedly attacked them, they said.

After the incident, a large number of Dalits gathered outside the Mirchpur police station and held a demonstration, raising slogans against the police, they added.
Upon receiving information about the incident, SP Rajender Kumar Meena and Deputy Commissioner Nikhil Gajraj along with other officers and police force reached the village last night and met the local people.

The situation in village is under control and extra police force has been deployed to avoid any untoward incident, Meena said, adding in-charge of the Mirchpur chowki has been transferred.
When asked to comment on the media reports that nearly 40 Dalit families have left the village, Meena denied the claim and maintained that some Dalits were invited to Kheri Chopta police chowki today for talks to sort out the issue.
Following the last night's incident, a case under section 148 (rioting), 149 (if an offence be committed by any member of an unlawful assembly), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the Indian Penal Code and under the provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was registered against 15 persons at Narnaund, the SP said.

One of the injured was admitted to Agroha Medical College
while five others to the civil hospital here with simple injuries and were likely to be discharged today, he said.
Sub Divisional Magistrate Ashok Bansal today met the injured in the civil hospital here and assured them that the state government would bear the expenses of their treatment, besides ensuring their safety.
Nearly six years ago, two people were burnt alive in an inter-caste violence in the same village.
Following the violence, CRPF troops had been deployed in the village to maintain peace, but the force was withdrawn last year.

A 20-member committee had also been formed earlier to maintain harmony in the village.
The CRPF was deployed the village when an alleged group of villagers belonging to upper caste torched over a dozen houses belonging to Dalits on April 21, 2010 in which a 19-year-old polio-stricken girl and her father were charred to death.
The incident was triggered by an argument between some Dalit youths and upper caste men after a person from the latter's community had thrown a stone at a dog which was barking at him while he was passing through a Dalit locality in the village.